Indopedia All Things Marijuana
Despite having legalized medical marijuana twenty years ago, California has left its MMJ industry largely unregulated. That is all set to change, as the California Bureau of Marijuana Control has released draft versions of regulations that will tightly regulate the industry starting next year. This week, the bureau released a series of draft regulations that will govern how medical marijuana providers must test their products.
The 46-page draft regulations mandate that all medical cannabis sold in the state must be independently lab tested starting next year. These labs will test marijuana samples for homogeneity and moisture content as well as for contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, solvents, microorganisms, and other foreign material. Labs must also report the exact concentration in milligrams of THC, THCA, CBD, CBDA, CBG and CBN.
Some MMJ providers feel that these new regulations for testing are excessive, and will therefore drive up the price of their products. Laboratories will be required to purchase expensive new equipment in order to test for contaminants like heavy metals, and the additional testing will also increase the turn-around time for…
